Noah and Boozer conspicuous by absence — again

Veteran big men sit out entire 4th quarter for 2nd straight night as Bulls go with Asik and Gibson

January 11, 2012|By K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune reporter

For the second straight night, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah sat for the entire fourth quarter.

"It's nothing personal," Noah said. "I understand Omer (Asik) and Taj (Gibson) are playing great. I have to find a way to affect winning. … It's tough, but we're winning. I have to play bigger, play better defense, rebound better."

Boozer and Noah combined for eight points and 10 rebounds in just fewer than 45 minutes.

"That's just Thibs' decision," Boozer said of coach Tom Thibodeau. "You just ride with it and keep going. As long as we keep winning, everybody is happy."

Asked if he needed an explanation, Boozer said: "That's up to him. He's the coach."

Traveling man: Mike James' day started in Erie, Pa., continued with an afternoon flight to Chicago and ended with him playing 40.2 seconds in the Bulls victory after soaking up a crash course from assistant coaches on the bench.

"It's unfortunate Derrick (Rose) went down," James said. "But I'm excited. I had opportunities to go to Europe. But sometimes you're out of sight, out of mind (there). And I wanted to end my career in the NBA."

General manager Gar Forman had flown to Reno, Nev., over the weekend to scout the Development League Showcase for future possibilities. But when Rose's sprained left big toe worsened overnight, Forman offered a non-guaranteed contract to James, who had left Reno to return to Erie through Los Angeles and Cleveland with his D-League team late Tuesday night.

"He's an experienced, tough, hard-nosed guy who can shoot and run pick-and-roll," Thibodeau said. "He'll fit in well."

Thibodeau coached James with the Rockets, one of James' 10 NBA teams. He has averaged 10.5 points and 3.6 assists in 528 career games.

"Defensively, he has been through the system before so he'll pick that up very quickly," Thibodeau said.

James, 36, played in China and Turkey last season. He logged four games with the Wizards in 2009-10 and missed his lone shot Wednesday.

Toe the line: X-rays on Rose's sprained left big toe were negative, although his swelling increased overnight.

"It's day-to-day," Thibodeau said. "It's when the pain subsides where he can play, hopefully (Friday)."

The Bulls won't practice Thursday but will fly to Boston for Friday's game against the Celtics. Thibodeau made clear Rose's injury is not as serious as the turf toe that badly limited Boozer during last season's playoffs.

Thibodeau said both Richard Hamilton and C.J. Watson are "very close" to returning from their respective groin and elbow injuries. Watson has targeted next Monday's matinee in Memphis for his return.

Layups: Wizards guard and former Bull Roger Mason Jr. served as vice president of the players association during the lockout. "It was a great experience," Mason said. "A lot of hours but worth it to build a new collective bargaining agreement." … Kyle Korver is staging an intensive coat drive concluding with the Jan. 21 home game. Visit Bulls.com/korvercoatdrive for other dropoff locations.